'Innocent Brummies'

Cahil McElhinnery called for the Birmingham pub bombings investigation to be reopened

Julie Hambleton said 3,000 people had signed an e-petition backing the campaign as well as a 10,000-signature paper petition, which she said would be presented at Downing Street at some point in the future.

Another campaigner Mike Watts also addressed the crowd, saying: "We started this campaign because people from Birmingham have been ignored.

"Now we've started we're not going to go away. We want justice for the 21. We're fighting for innocent Brummies."

Cahil McElhinnery, whose brother Kevin was killed in the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry, was also at the vigil and said he was backing the Hambletons' campaign for justice.

West Midlands Police said it had collated 10,000 documents and exhibits relating to the case and would respond if any significant new lines of inquiry came to light.